Lotus: Obviously that wasn’t the day we wanted to have

19 February, 2014

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Romain Grosjean gave the Lotus E22 its first public run

Romain Grosjean completed his and the team’s first day of testing of the exciting new E22 at the Bahrain International Circuit today with a limited programme as the team and engine partners Renault Sport F1 worked on the new powertrain. Romain completed eight timed laps with a best time of 1min 44.832secs.

Fast Facts:

Track: Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain, 5.4 km

Chassis: E22-01

Weather: Sunny, ambient 21-25°C, track 21-30 °C

Programme: Initial installation and functionality checks.

Laps Completed: 8

Classification: P8, 1:44.832

Interruptions: Energy Store Unit change

What’s Next? Romain Grosjean will drive for the team for tomorrow’s test day.

Romain Grosjean: “I didn’t have too much work to do today and I certainly had fewer laps than scheduled in the car, but it was still great to get out on track for the first time in the E22. For me personally it felt good to be back behind the wheel but some issues held us back today. I’m confident that we’ll put today’s problems behind us and we’ll be able to get some good mileage under our belts before we head to Melbourne.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Obviously that wasn’t the day we wanted to have and there are few conclusions we can draw so far, as our running was so limited. It’s no secret that we’re frustrated, as we want to get laps on the board to understand our new car and all the different elements it contains. The Power Units contain a lot of new technology and certainly we had issues with the energy store unit today. We changed this unit during the course of the day, which is not the work of a moment. Certainly we hope for a better day tomorrow.” (Lotus Press Release)